Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Results tagged ‘ Maikel Franco ’

The Phillies season ended today in the same fashion they played throughout the year. There was no offense to be found and lackluster effort. The Phillies were 1 run away from a win with the 2-1 loss to the Braves; pitcher Cole Hamels was 1 win away from double-digit wins for the season; and Ben Revere ended the season 1 base short of 50 stolen bases on the year. Jimmy Rollins spoke before the game, telling fans, “Before we’re done this year, we’d like to say thank you for showing up. We know it was rough, but hopefully we made you guys smile.” Etch that on a tombstone and you have the Phillies 2014 eulogy.

As is tradition for the last home game of the year, today was dubbed “Fan Appreciation Day.” Players signed autographs and jested with fans cheerfully and prizes were given away.

But I’ll tell you when I will feel truly appreciated; when the tickets prices go down to a level worthy of watching a last place team. Don’t worry; I won’t hold my breath.

After all the happy exchanges, the game began and it was more of the same. Poor Cole Hamels did not get even 10 wins this year thanks to an absent offense. Adding insult to injury, Hamels had a team-leading 2 hits in the game but no one could drive him in. He even got whacked on the face with a batted ball and suffered a minor bloody lip. That about summed up his season.

The offense was so bad, players were literally throwing their bats away. Chase Utley, Maikel Franco and Braves pitcher James Russell all tossed their bats mid-swing at different points in the game. I guess they weren’t really using them anyway.

And so ends a dreary Phillies season with little hope for quick recovery. Oh sure, they fired Assistant GM Marti Wolever. But all that really means in Ruben Amaro Jr. keeps his job. And I guess more heads are going to roll, which is appropriate. But how much difference will it make and when? I hope to take a guess at answering some of those questions in the weeks to come. In the meantime, here is my final 2014 Photo Album. Here hoping for a happy off-season!

The day started out so well. It was sunny outside, people seemed happy…even Chase Utley was smiling on the field during warm-ups. Anyone who follows this team knows what a rare moment that is. It just seemed like a good day where a sweep of the Marlins was totally possible. Heck, there was even breakdancing during the game! It was all going well until the 9th inning…

Before that frightening 9th inning, starting pitcher, David Buchanan pitched very well, allowing only 1 run on a solo homer through 6 1/3 innings. Although, he did almost have his head taken off while attempting to bunt, which was a bit scary.

But baseball carried on and the Phillies racked up hits, stolen bases and Ryan Howard even showed patience at the plate, drawing a walk in the 4th inning.

I finally got to see Maikel Franco play in person. He had an interesting day that included a broken bat RBI single where he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. He also had this play at third where he bobbled the ball, recovered and still got the out:

By the 9th inning, the Phillies had a 4-1 lead. But then Jonathan Papelbon came into the game. Granted, he has been mostly good all season. And anyone can blow a save…it happens (unless it is 2008 and you are Brad Lidge). When one blows a save however, that person should expect to get boo’ed. In fact, that person should boo themselves for sucking on that occasion. Instead, Papelbon decided to look into the crowd as he walked to the dugout and grab his crotch demonstratively in reply to the boo’s. After the game, he said he was “adjusting” himself. Really? And he could not wait 10 more steps to do so? I am not buying it.

His attitude just sucks. And his response was way out of line. After ejecting Papelbon for the gesture, umpire Joe West grabbed Papelbon by the shirt and shoved him. I cannot wait to see the blow back from that…stay tuned.

So the Phillies will ride this smelly, stinky 4-5 loss all the way across the country to San Diego where they start a 4 game series with the Padres tomorrow. For now, here is the Photo Album from today’s game which includes the happier moments.

Congratulations to Phillies pitchers Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles and Jonathan Papelbon and catcher Carlos Ruiz on Monday’s combined no-hitter against the Braves. It is the 12th no-hitter in Phillies history and the first combined no-hitter. Altogether, there have been only 11 teams in baseball history to record a combined no-hitter.

One other fun note is that this is the 3rd no-hitter caught by Carlos Ruiz in his career. He is ties for second all-time behind Jason Varitek, who caught four no-hitters for the Red Sox from 2001-2008.

Oddly enough, Hamels had what appeared to be one of his most difficult outings of the year, even though he did not allow a hit. His pitches were all over the place and he walked 5 batters. I am guessing this erratic performance completely confused Braves hitters.

Overshadowed in the 7-0 no-hit victory was a 5-RBI day for Ben Revere, who is now batting .310. Jimmy Rollins had 3 hits and Chase Utley walked twice. It was a nice day offensively, but the no-hitter took the front page news, as is appropriate.

So in an otherwise awful Phillies season, this was a very nice moment for the team and the fans. Fans do have a little more fun ahead as September call-ups start streaming in. It looks like Maikel Franco will finally get a shot in the Bigs. We will also get our first look at Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez, the Cuban righty that the Phillies spent a fortune on and, so far, have little to show for it. Also, Mike Adams and Tony Gwynn Jr. will return.

I look forward to seeing the line-up for tonight’s game. First pitch is at 7:10pm and Kyle Kendrick will pitch. That is a nice gift to the Braves following the no-hitter. Just sayin’…

I hate to state the obvious, but this Phillies team just plain sucks. This fact has been made plainly evident after the Phils lost 4 of 5 games to the Mets in spectacularly bad fashion. The secret is out. When I was at the game on Sunday, the only reason I did not hear crickets in the stands was because of all the Mets fans there.

I cannot think of a single strength on this team. The pitching is impossible to predict, the defense is awful, base running seems like a mystery to these guys and the offense is practically non-existent. Even the attitudes suck. Just in the last week, we have witnessed veteran players making mental mistakes, lazy play, especially in the outfield, and a lot of “that’s baseball” comments after games. This team seems to have accepted that they suck and that is exactly how they are playing; like a defeated group with no hope of recovery.

I do not think the Phillies stand a chance this year. Still, they need to make some moves to, at the very least, appease what fans they have left. First, send Domonic Brown to the minors and bring back Darin Ruf to play left field. Brown has been lazing about in left and needs a reality check. Ruf deserves a shot. It doesn’t matter that his defense is not great because, really, where is this team going anyway? Nowhere. So give this guy some playing time.

Please send Phillippe Aumont back to the minors. Or better yet, give him away to another team for free. He does nothing but walk guys and give up home runs; last night’s grand slam was the final straw for me.

There are many other moves I would like to see, but some are just not possible. I still hear chants of “trade Ryan Howard.” To those people I say, good luck with that. No team would want him with his salary. I’d like to see the Phillies play a centerfielder better than Ben Revere, but who exactly would that be?

There are a few guys in the minors that may help at some point (Ken Giles, Maikel Franko), but why bring them up before they are ready? The team will still suck either way. And you then risk exposing them to what appears to be a negative clubhouse environment where older players are setting very bad examples for younger ones. Do you really want Franco to learn how to play with a total lack of urgency and swing at every pitch regardless of circumstance or location? How about teaching him to get thrown out on the base paths? If this is what you want him to learn, bring him up!

The last thing I’d like to see…fire Ruben Amaro Jr., his staff and all the scouts and START OVER. This team needs a serious reboot with a NEW approach to the draft and scouting. The same old, outdated approach has run this team into the ground. They need to start pouring sabermetrics on top of their traditional scouting cereal for breakfast and get with the times. I am not discounting traditional scouting nor touting sabermetrics as the savior, but a nice combination could maybe get things going in the right direction. And frankly, what do the Phillies have to lose?

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